With my birthday approaching this January 30, I decided to look into just how far from natural cycles the Gregorian calendar really is. It was not difficult to discover that the exact moment of my solar return will differ by eighteen hours eleven minutes between this year and next.

Though I was born at 6:54 pm, the sun will arrive at the same position, in relation to the solstices and equinoxes, this year at 7:47 pm. Next year, as a result of this year's being leap year, that position will be reached at 1:36 am. In my particular case, this phenomenon does not change the date of my so-called birthday according to the Gregorian calendar. But, had I been born just one hour thirty-seven minutes earlier, the completion of my twenty-ninth year will have taken place on January 29. As you can see, for some people, the shortcomings of the Gregorian calendar as a measure of natural cycles result in a frequent change of birthday.

Because a year is defined by one orbit of the earth around the sun, the Gregorian calendar effectively occludes the true observance of time. If one felt like lighting a candle at one's exact time of birth on one's birthday as it is measured by the Gregorian calendar, that moment is not likely to coincide with the moment at which the earth returns to the "birthday point" of its orbit. In this particular case, I am thankful for astrological technology embedded in computers. Without http://astro.com, I would have been unable to arrive at this conclusion. Furthermore, it is a long and arduous task to calculate the exact moment of a solar return, especially according to the tropical system, by simply observing the skies.

In my opinion, at this moment anyway, the lesson to learn from this study of the Gregorian calendar is that this method of tracking time does not harmonize with nature. It harmonizes with money. Everybody rushes toward the "end of the year," doing all they can to fill their coffers from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve. When the next calendar year begins, so does the next round of monetary frenzy. The so-called leaders of the world push enslavement of humanity under a system in which some self-important pattern printed on a piece of fancy paper rules time. Time is money, they tell you. But the US government is in control of its citizens' money. The following is from http://federalreserve.gov:The Federal Reserve System, often referred to as the Federal Reserve or simply "the Fed," is the central bank of the United States. It was created by the Congress to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve was created on December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. Today, the Federal Reserve's responsibilities fall into four general areas.

Conducting the nation's monetary policy by influencing money and credit conditions in the economy in pursuit of full employment and stable prices.

Supervising and regulating banks and other important financial institutions to ensure the safety and soundness of the nation's banking and financial system and to protect the credit rights of consumers.

Maintaining the stability of the financial system and containing systemic risk that may arise in financial markets.

Providing certain financial services to the U.S. government, U.S. financial institutions, and foreign official institutions, and playing a major role in operating and overseeing the nation's payments systems.

. . .

In the short run, monetary policy influences inflation and the economy-wide demand for goods and services--and, therefore, the demand for the employees who produce those goods and services--primarily through its influence on the financial conditions facing households and firms. During normal times, the Federal Reserve has primarily influenced overall financial conditions by adjusting the federal funds rate--the rate that banks charge each other for short-term loans. Movements in the federal funds rate are passed on to other short-term interest rates that influence borrowing costs for firms and households. Movements in short-term interest rates also influence long-term interest rates--such as corporate bond rates and residential mortgage rates--because those rates reflect, among other factors, the current and expected future values of short-term rates. In addition, shifts in long-term interest rates affect other asset prices, most notably equity prices and the foreign exchange value of the dollar. For example, all else being equal, lower interest rates tend to raise equity prices as investors discount the future cash flows associated with equity investments at a lower rate.In turn, these changes in financial conditions affect economic activity. For example, when short- and long-term interest rates go down, it becomes cheaper to borrow, so households are more willing to buy goods and services and firms are in a better position to purchase items to expand their businesses, such as property and equipment. Firms respond to these increases in total (household and business) spending by hiring more workers and boosting production. As a result of these factors, household wealth increases, which spurs even more spending. These linkages from monetary policy to production and employment don't show up immediately and are influenced by a range of factors, which makes it difficult to gauge precisely the effect of monetary policy on the economy.Monetary policy also has an important influence on inflation. When the federal funds rate is reduced, the resulting stronger demand for goods and services tends to push wages and other costs higher, reflecting the greater demand for workers and materials that are necessary for production. In addition, policy actions can influence expectations about how the economy will perform in the future, including expectations for prices and wages, and those expectations can themselves directly influence current inflation.In 2008, with short-term interest rates essentially at zero and thus unable to fall much further, the Federal Reserve undertook nontraditional monetary policy measures to provide additional support to the economy. Between late 2008 and October 2014, the Federal Reserve purchased longer-term mortgage-backed securities and notes issued by certain government-sponsored enterprises, as well as longer-term Treasury bonds and notes. The primary purpose of these purchases was to help to lower the level of longer-term interest rates, thereby improving financial conditions. Thus, this nontraditional monetary policy measure operated through the same broad channels as traditional policy, despite the differences in implementation of the policy.

It is slavery, or at least an undeniable attempt at it; and the timetable on which it operates is hopelessly out of sync with human beings' real source of value, nature. I am not the only person for whom it seems that a true appreciation of our natural lives is under attack. Putting a number on nature has proved very dangerous! There is more work to be done. There are more battles to be fought, and more sincere and pure moments of joyful repose to be welcomed with wisdom.

Traditionally, the voice is most often accompanied by instruments. But this post is inspired by instances in which the voice has been made equal or subordinate to instruments.

One early example that comes to my mind is the first polyphonic pieces from the Notre Dame school. The melismas in some of these pieces are so long that, contrary to a clear hearing of the text, the listener has little choice but to hear the voices in a similar way one would hear an instrument. One vocal syllable is held for so long that the words are difficult to track. In such cases, vocal parts with fewer long melismas take the role of soloist and those with more drawn-out syllables that of accompanist.

More recently, and in a very different cultural sphere, the bassist and guitarist of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea and John Frusciante, at times provide backup vocals in falsetto. Granted, they are supporting a lead vocalist as opposed to lead instrumentalist. In the following audio clip, I support my own guitar solo with discant-like falsetto vocals.

If you have any questions or comments on this topic, I would be glad to read and respond to them! Please be in touch. Thanks.

As it is written in the August 1, 1896 Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, Raag Mayamalavagowla "is the most favored mode, the first taught" (520) in South Indian Classical Music. A.M. Chinnaswami Mudaliyar, M.A. notes that Indians in general are very fond of the melodic formulas contained in this raag (see Oriental Music in European Notation).

In this post, I propose the viability of studying some harmonic components of Indian classical music. Among many possibilities is the rhythmic emphasis of intervals against the drone. One needs to look at the affective character of each raag vis-à-vis the limitations to which the melody is subjected. Also, Pa-high Sa-low Sa, Ma-high Sa-low Sa, and Ni-high Sa-low Sa drones should be examined. Additionally, I have heard Buddhist chant in Sri Lankan that makes use of parallel perfect fifths. The matter of harmony in Indian music is certainly deserving of investigation. I invite any comments!

Below, find two brief compositions in Raag Mayamalavagowla. The following recording is unique in that the drone changes, in this case from Sa=E to Sa=A. Altering the drone would be a less traditional, yet, in my opinion, viable way to utilize harmony in what has long been called a purely melodic school. The addition of lyrics, which I plan to work out eventually, will add to the shift of affective state achieved by changing the drone.

One of the primary goals of my upcoming concert series taking place in Petaluma, CA—Textual Chordophonics Live—is to revisit my compositions of years past. I have created a large body of work, and intend to share it with my community through an outlook that highlights the guitar's connections to the liberal arts. The following clip is an interpretation of the traditional Flamenco form Tangos. It is an improvisation based on the third movement of my second guitar sonata. I will be performing an improvisation on this same piece at the first concert, among, of course, many other works. If you would like to attend, please see the Contact page of this website, www.larsrosager.com. Thanks.

This is a picture of my late pet goat Bart. Happy Capricorn Season, and let the click be a reminder that sometimes, transcribing music can feel like butting heads, whether it be with a goat, against a wall, or otherwise. Nonetheless, using one's ears to put live or recorded music into notation is very good practice.

Perhaps this is a good lesson on what good practice really is: an extreme challenge? I believe so, that at least in part, practice time is a time to challenge one's own limits—even the limits of others! I have been compiling jazz licks I have transcribed in an appendix to my catalogue of original compositions. In this post, I share a few of them with you.

Today, I've decided to post a cover of Beck's song "Jack-Ass" from the album Odelay. Listening to Beck's lyrics, I'm intrigued by some of his words that may be interpreted in an astrological light. Moreover, he is passionate and profound.

"Jack-Ass" is a good lesson in how to make the text of a piece of music stand out. One will notice the chord progression is actually not a progression at all, really, just the alternation between A and D Major. With such a simple instrumental texture, one which repeats itself with minor timbral differences throughout the song, the words and their meaning(s) come to the fore.

Starting Saturday March 5, I will be giving a one and a half–hour concert at my home in Petaluma, California every three weeks. I will be performing pieces for voice and guitar—five-course, six-string, and seven-string. The aim of this concert series is to incarnate my academic inquiries and offer to my community an ongoing realization of historically stimulating music for voice and guitar. Coffee, tea, and sweets will be made available after the performance. It would be a pleasure to see you there! Thanks.